The present invention relates to electrical cable support assemblies for electrical penetration assemblies which provide electrical connection through the biological, environment containment of a nuclear reactor system.
The nuclear reactor containment comprises a sealed containment building which may be of the type with a steel liner and a thick concrete wall about the liner, or of the double containment annular type where a steel shield wall is spaced from a surrounding concrete containment wall. In either case, the containment is sealed and designed to withstand unlikely accident conditions to ensure that no radioactive material can breach the containment to the surrounding environment.
Numerous electrical cables must be sealed through the containment to provide electrical operating power, instrumentation, and control capability for the reactor systems. An electrical penetration assembly is the sealed feed-through device by which such electrical connections are made through the containment. Thick walled pipes or nozzles are provided through the steel and concrete wall portions of the containment. The electrical penetrations pass through these nozzles and are sealed at header plates at opposed ends of the nozzles. The typical electrical penetration is of a modular configuration as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,262, and comprises a tubular metal housing with one or more electrical leads sealed within the housing and extending beyond each end for electrical connection. A plurality of such penetration modules are brought through a header and nozzle.
It is desirable to segregate or shield the individual electrical cables or cable bundles within the nozzle for safety as well as electrical shielding reasons. The containment and penetration design must also provide for seismic and thermal movement or expansion of the containment building with the penetration remaining sealed.